Box Score (HTML) |
Photo Gallery
URBANA, Ohio – The No. 19 UIndy football team (9-2, 8-0 GLVC) made history in its regular-season finale Saturday afternoon. The 31-24 come-from-behind win at Urbana secured the Greyhounds their first-ever nine-win season, as well as the first-ever Great Lakes Valley Conference football championship.
The only other Greyhound football squad to finish with a better record than this year's group was the 1953 team that went 8-0 and was inducted into the UIndy Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.
The Hounds finished off their perfect run through the GLVC when
Chris Mills delivered a 10-yard touchdown scamper that proved to be the difference. The junior quarterback found the end zone on a draw play with just 1:35 left, good for his first rushing TD of the season.
Â
Things did not look as bright for the Hounds just minutes earlier. The Knights (7-4, 5-3) opened up a 24-16 lead with nine minutes left in the game, but a big kickoff return from
Klay Fiechter gave the Greyhounds new life.
Â
The ensuing drive, which started at the Urbana 38, was punctuated by a needed touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the score with less than seven minutes to go.Â
Logan Young caught a seven-yard TD pass, while
Reece Horn corralled the reception on the conversion.
Â
With go-ahead points on Urbana's mind, a huge defensive stop gave the UIndy offense the ball right back. True-freshman and Greenwood, Ind., native
Lee Campbell took down UU quarterback DJ Mendenhall on a 4th & 1 attempt to thwart the Knights' drive before they crossed midfield.
Â
The Greyhounds took over at the Knights' 41-yard line on the eventual game-winning drive. Mills recorded 25 rushing yards on the series, while
Mar'quone Edmonds had a 15-yard catch.
Â
The Blue Knights struck first with a 13-play, 80-yard drive on the game's first possession. It marked the first time the Hounds had trailed in 22 consecutive quarters of play, dating back to the Missouri S&T game Sept. 29.
Â
The teams battled to a 10-10 tie at the five-minute mark of the second until Edmonds capped the first-half scoring with his second touchdown of the day. The one-handed grab came on a 10-yard pass from Mills to give the Hounds a 16-10 edge at the break.
Â
Neither team scored for the first 13 minutes of the second half, but Urbana managed to retake the lead at 17-16 on a Mendenhall TD pass.
Â
They followed that up with another touchdown on their first possession of the fourth, setting up the Greyhounds' comeback theatrics.
Â
Three Greyhounds finished in double-digits in tackles; sophomore safety
John Strickland racked up a career-best 17 tackles, followed by
Todd Hacker with 13 and
Andre Smith with 10.
Â
Senior linebacker
Max Davis finished with nine stops and an interception. The performance moved his season tackle total over 100 and his career number to 400. He becomes the sixth-ever Greyhound with three straight 100-tackle seasons.
With the regular season in the books, UIndy must wait until Sunday evening to learn of its postseason fate. The NCAA will announce the 24-team Division II playoff field at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com. Just six teams from each region will be selected to compete for the 2012 national championship. The Hounds were ranked fifth in Super Region Four heading into the weekend.
Â